"I absolutely maintain my innocence, and this is just a process. Thank goodness we have a Constitution. We are presumed innocent until we're proven guilty. And I look forward to my day in court to confront my accusers and to share my side of the story for really the first time."

Mark Shurtleff statement:

"I admit that I am not perfect and never professed to be. I have made mistakes and errors in judgment. But I have never intentionally committed any breaches of professional ethics, misused or abused my office of public trust, and certainly never violated the criminal laws of this state or our nation."

Gov. Gary Herbert statement:

"This is a sad day for Utah. The entire situation, regardless of how the legal process plays out, is a black eye for our state. While we respect the rule of law and due process, this serves as a reminder that nobody is above the law and, if anything, public servants must be held to a higher standard."

“This case is not something we should be prosecuting as local prosecutor.”

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill

Swallow financially benefited from a fundraising effort with Timothy and Jennifer Bell, who were involved in a lawsuit with Bank of America. The Bells hosted a fundraiser for Swallow's 2012 attorney general campaign that cost $28,000 to put on but that he reported on campaign finance disclosures as a $15,000 in-kind donation and later a $1,000 donation, the charges state.

Swallow also is accused of receiving $23,000 from Richard Rawle, whom he introduced to Johnson as someone who could help him influence Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., regarding a Federal Trade Commission investigation into Johnson's Internet marketing company. Rawle paid Swallow out of $250,000 that Johnson paid him to enlist his help, Gill said.

Swallow then falsified invoices to make it appear he had done consulting work for Rawle on a Nevada cement project, according to Gill.

"The investigation of public corruption is one of the FBI's highest priorities," Rook said.

To date, at least 15 search warrants have been unsealed in the 18-month probe, including three last month. The latest were served June 2 on the Sandy homes of Swallow and Shurtleff and the Salt Lake condominium of Renae Cowley, a former campaign staffer for the two Republicans who now works as a Salt Lake lobbyist.

Some of the allegations center on the relationships Swallow and Shurtleff had with Jeremy Johnson, a St. George businessman who is named in an 86-count federal indictment alleging fraud in connection with his online business, iWorks. The once-lucrative enterprise also is the subject of a Federal Trade Commission complaint.

Shurtleff is accused of using Johnson's private jet to fly to a fundraiser in California, and in another incident, using his plane to fly to New York to pick up actor Vincent D'Onofrio from the TV show "Law & Order," according to court documents. Pictures of Johnson and Shurtleff sitting together in Johnson's yellow Lamborghini are on the Internet, the affidavits state.

Swallow used Johnson's luxury houseboat and Ferrari on several occasions while he was chief deputy in the attorney general's office, the warrants state. At least one of Johnson's houseboats was so large that it included a helicopter pad.

A report released earlier this year by Attorney General Sean Reyes described Shurtleff's "unusual" involvement in Jenson's case, which started after some investors, including a campaign contributor, alleged to Shurtleff that Jenson defrauded them. At the same time, Jenson and his associates gained access to Shurtleff by paying his self-described "fixer," Tim Lawson, at least $114,300, according to the report.

Jenson claims Swallow and Shurtleff took him down during all-expenses-paid visits to his Southern California villa. He also accused Swallow of securing a "quid pro quo" agreement from him for a $1 million lot in the planned members-only resort development known as Mount Holly.

Jenson is serving a 10-year prison term for failing to pay $4.1 million in restitution after pleading no contest to selling unregistered securities.

Popular Comments

Wow! Well, Utah, welcome to the big time. Chicago has nothing over on you.

You know, a two party system would fix a lot of this type of corruption.

8:36 a.m. July 15, 2014

Top comment

Henderson

Orem, UT

How can this be? I've read that we're the best managed state!

Besides, Swallow said on ksl that he was innocent!

8:38 a.m. July 15, 2014

Top comment

SharpHooks

Sandy, UT

byufootballrocks is not paying attention.They don't arrest or indict
unless there is some SERIOUS evidence.This is not a anti-Mormon thing, sir
or madam. This is not politically or religiously motivated.This is a
criminal
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Pat is a veteran police and courts reporter for the Deseret News and KSL and has covered some of the biggest stories in Utah for the past two decades. He is a graduate of Michigan State University with a BA in journalism.

Dennis Romboy is a reporter for Deseret News where for the past 20 years he has covered a variety of beats including state and local government, human services and the 2002 Olympics. He spent six years as a special more ..